by Robert Wiener
NJJN Staff Writer

August 7, 2008

An overflow crowd of mourners said goodbye to June Walker with a mixture of tears and laughter July 31 at Congregation Beth Hatikvah in Summit, with more than 300 people crowding the sanctuary and an adjacent room.

Walker, chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and former national president of Hadassah, died July 29 at the age of 74 at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.

Although the Rockaway resident had been battling cancer for the past seven years, she refused to let the illness slow down her hectic life as a leader.

In the last few weeks of her life, Walker had traveled to Israel to receive an honorary degree from Haifa University, left a wheelchair to walk painfully across a stage in Los Angeles to address Hadassah’s national convention, and attended a United Nations reception for Israel’s departing ambassador, Dan Gillerman.

‘So many of us stand tall
because she carried us on her shoulders.’

Calling it a “great honor to be her rabbi and her friend,” Amy Small began the 90-minute service by speaking of “June’s love that unites us in life and that death cannot sever” and her “compassion that continues through the tenderness of memory.”

Beginning a parade of tributes from friends, family members, and colleagues in the Jewish community, Nancy Falchuk, the woman who succeeded Walker as the president of Hadassah, told mourners Walker’s passing was “very hard to believe.”

Battling tears as she began her eulogy, Falchuk noted that the diminutive Walker was a person “big of heart but small of stature,” who jokingly referred to herself as “vertically challenged. And yet so many of us stand tall because she carried us on her shoulders.

“If we measure June’s life by the number of people she touched, we are compensated by her generosity,” said the Hadassah leader.

Malcolm Hoenlein, who worked closely with Walker as executive vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told the audience that perhaps her illness “made her appreciate the value of time and getting things done.”

Speaking of her passionate devotion to such causes as Israel, healthcare, and stem cell research, Hoenlein called Walker a “feminist who led by example and felt that men also had a rightful place.”

When Walker became head of the Presidents’ Conference a year ago, she stopped publicly espousing liberal positions on domestic political issues, leading Hoenlein to joke that he “didn’t know for sure whether June was or was not a Republican.” He drew laughter again when he described her special relationship with President George Walker Bush. “She used to joke that all of the Walkers were related,” he said.

A moment later, Hoenlein read a statement from the president, saying, “Laura and I are deeply saddened by the loss of June, whose strength and leadership will be a strong legacy for all.”

Hoenlein also read messages from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Among other national Jewish leaders in attendance were David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, and Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Describing Walker as “courageous,” Marlene Post, a past president of Hadassah, said she had observed her colleague as she underwent medical therapy that was often “steeped in pain…. She was determined in every way possible that she would put up a valiant fight. We all have so much to learn from that fight for life.”

Small returned to the bima to speak of her congregant and friend as a person of “true compassion, who was devoted to her family and beyond.

“In a way,” said Small, “all kids were June’s.”

Calling her a “Jewish heroine,” the rabbi said, “I felt so pleased to know that my daughter’s generation has such an outstanding female role model as June Walker.

Walker is survived by her husband, Barrett; their three children, David Walker, Ellen Walker and her husband Dan Colon, and Julie Richman and her husband Todd Richman; and six grandchildren.

His voice cracking with grief, Barrett Walker, told fellow mourners, “There are so many reasons I fell in love with June. I loved her spirit, her compassion, and her conscience…. She was my life. I feel so fortunate to have been her husband.”

“How can I say goodbye?” asked Walker’s sister, Linda Thailer, who told the group her own children blended so seamlessly with Walker’s that they formed one broad nuclear family. She recalled happy family moments, ranging from a simple picnic in the park to an elaborate pilgrimage to Israel.

“I will feel your presence and your love for the rest of my days,” Thailer concluded.

In perhaps the ceremony’s most moving moments, Walker’s grandchildren took turns at the podium, unable to hold back tears, even as they spoke of joyful memories — of b’nei mitzva on Masada, trips to Puerto Rico, and simple family get-togethers.

Leading off, Lauren Walker spoke of her grandmother as a woman who “dedicated her life into making her dreams into realities. She would not live to see all her dreams come to fruition, but she worked to make sure her dreams did not die with her.”

Stacey Richman said, “She may have passed from our lives, but she is far from gone because of the example she has set…. We love you, Grandma, and hope you will rest in peace, knowing your job was well done.”

“Most people think that funerals are sad,” said granddaughter Kimberly Richman. “But we remember all sorts of happy things and all the times that made us happy.”

Walker’s son-in-law, Todd Richman, called her “one of the greatest women who ever lived.”

Joking about her shortness of height, he said, “You read about past leaders like Napoleon. I could never understand how such small people could become such powerful leaders. The answer to that question came quickly. This little woman had me doing things for her like I was born to serve.”

Rebecca Fish described her grandmother as someone who would “supersize every moment,” an adventurer who would “get in the car and never go to a destination directly. Instead, she would travel on an unknown road, and needless to say, a two-hour drive would end nine hours later.”

“We experienced your love and your bravery,” said Walker’s youngest grandchild, Stacey Richman. “I hope you know that so much of who I am is because of you.”

Following the service, Walker was buried at Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge.

Donations in her honor may be made to the June Walker Education Building at Hadassah’s Meir Shfeyah Youth Village or to Congregation Beth Hatikvah.

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